Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A retail company runs an e-commerce application on Azure. During the holiday season, the application experiences a sudden 10x increase in traffic. The company uses Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets configured with autoscale rules based on CPU usage. The application automatically adds virtual machines during the peak and removes them when traffic subsides. Which benefit of cloud computing does this configuration primarily demonstrate?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
High availability
High availability ensures that the application remains operational during failures (e.g., using multiple instances across availability zones). While the autoscale configuration can contribute to availability, the primary benefit shown here is the dynamic scaling based on demand, which is elasticity.
B
Best answer
Elasticity
Elasticity is the ability to automatically provision and de-provision resources to match current demand. The Virtual Machine Scale Sets with autoscale rules perfectly illustrate this by adding VMs when CPU usage rises and removing them when it falls, allowing the company to handle the holiday traffic spike efficiently.
C
Distractor review
Fault tolerance
Fault tolerance refers to the ability of a system to continue operating even if some components fail. Although Virtual Machine Scale Sets can be configured for fault tolerance, the scenario focuses on scaling based on demand, not on surviving failures.
D
Distractor review
Latency-based routing
Latency-based routing is a traffic management feature that directs users to the nearest or fastest endpoint (e.g., using Azure Traffic Manager). It is not related to the ability to scale resources up or down based on workload.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer is building a serverless application that requires integration with an on-premises SQL Server database for real-time data processing. The on-premises network is connected to Azure via a site-to-site VPN. Which Azure service would allow the function to securely access the on-premises database without exposing it to the public internet?
Question 2
A solutions architect is designing a storage solution for a large media company. The company needs to store video files that are accessed infrequently but must be retained for several years for compliance. Which two Azure storage options meet these requirements? (Select two.)
Question 3
A company deploys a multi-tier application using Azure virtual machines. The web tier VMs must be evenly distributed across two distinct data centers within an Azure region to avoid a single point of failure from an infrastructure outage. Which Azure construct should they use to meet this requirement?
Question 4
A company wants to enforce a set of security policies across all their Azure subscriptions. They have created several individual policy definitions. Which Azure construct should they use to group these policies together and assign them as a single package?
Question 5
A company deploys a line-of-business application on an Azure virtual machine. The IT team wants to ensure the application remains secure. According to the shared responsibility model, which of the following security tasks is the sole responsibility of the customer (the company)?
Question 6
A company develops a web API that runs on Azure App Service. The development team wants to deploy a new version of the API to a staging environment, run integration tests against it, and then gradually shift production traffic to the new version. If any issues are detected, they want to immediately roll back to the previous version without redeploying. Which Azure App Service feature should the team use to meet these requirements?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Elasticity — Elasticity is a key characteristic of cloud computing that enables resources to be automatically scaled out (increased) and scaled in (decreased) based on demand. In this scenario, the Virtual Machine Scale Sets with autoscale rules dynamically adjust the number of virtual machines to match the current workload, ensuring the application can handle spikes without manual intervention and without paying for idle resources when demand drops. High availability focuses on maintaining uptime through redundancy, fault tolerance deals with surviving component failures, and latency-based routing optimizes traffic based on geographic proximity; none of these describe the automatic scaling behavior demonstrated here.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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